Thread package or spool



July 31,4934. E. J. STEWART THREAD PACKAGE OR SPOOL Filed Jan. 14, 1933 INVENTOR, Edwin j S/ewan BY W M TT RNEY5 Patented July 31, 1934 THREAD PACKAGE on sroof.

Edwin J. Stewart, East Orange, N. J., assignor to The American Thread Company, New York N. Y 'a corporation of New Jersey Application January 14, 1933,, Serial No. 651,734 f "aolai sg(o1.242+i19 My invention relates to packages of thread, and has special reference to spools forthread and yarn.

In packaging certain threads and yarns, such as mending cotton for the retail trade, it has heretofore been customary to wind the thread upon cylindrical paper drums, the thread being wound across the ends of the drum to provide a ball type package. Such packages, however, have been found objectionable in some respects. The uneven surfaces provided by the cross windings at the ends result in the balls being difficult to stack evenly on the counters or shelves of retail stores, and also the windings are liable to slough off the ends of the balls while on display and the thread become soiled or dirty. Moreover, this ball package is more or less inconvenient in use, the thread being liable to slacken and slip on the paper drum as it is drawn therefrom.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a thread package which has all of the advantages of the ball package above described, While overcoming the disadvantages thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved spool type package of thread or yarn which will have the thread uniformly distributed thereon even when there are but a relatively few layers upon the spool.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawing, of which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the improved thread package with parts of the thread broken away to show the spool construction;

Fig. 2 is a side view, partly in section, of the improved spool, and

Fig. 3 is an end elevation, partly in section, of the spool of Fig. 2.

The new spool comprises a tubular core 2 positioned within a second shorter tubular member 4 and paper disks 6 secured to the ends of core 2. Core 2 is of cardboard or the like, while the tubular member 4 is preferably, although not necessarily, of corrugated newsboard or similar paper having a corrugated or otherwise roughened surface. In the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated, each of the disks 6 has a central countersunk portion 8 and an outwardly and inwardly curved rim 10 which sets over and is firmly glued to the end of core 2 so as to extend thereover and form a thread retaining flange inclined inwardly from the end of the core 2. The countersunk central portion of the disk provides a convenient flat surface to which a label 11 may be glued or pasted, the rim protecting the edge of the label from being rubbed off or accidentally removed. If desired, the end disks 6 may be pro-' vided with axially arranged apertures 12 anda paper band 13 may be secured about the wound thread. g

When thread or yarn is cross wound upon the above described spool each strand of the thread 14 enters first one and thenthe other of the grooves 15 formed between the ends of member 4 and the rims 10 of the end disks, the thread being, in effect, looped over the shoulders 16 formed by the ends of member 4. This alternate looping of the thread or yarn over the ends of member 4 prevents the thread from slipping on the surface of the spool during handling or use and is of particular value in preventing exposure of the spool when there are but few layers of thread on the spool, as for example, in the packages customarily sold which are ordinarily of relatively large size but with a relatively small yardage of thread thereon. Thus uniform distribution of the thread upon the spool is insured by the shoulders 16 and sloughing of the thread off the ends of the spool is prevented by the overlapping rims 10, the rims and shoulders forming therebetween the thread retaining circumferem tial grooves 15.

Although the surface of member 4 is preferably roughened as heretofore stated and asshown, such roughing is not essential as the shoulders 16 provide positive means for preventing lateral slippage of the individual windings of the thread. In the embodiment of the invention above described the circumferential thread retaining grooves and shoulders are formed by the superposition of one cylindrical member about a core of greater length provided with end disks extending radially beyond the inner core. Obviously however, some at least of the advantages of the above described construction could be obtained by cutting away a circumferential strip of the outer surface of each end of a single relatively thicker core and the appended claims unless otherwise specifically limited are intended to include a spool so constructed. For economy in manufacture, the two core construction is, of course, preferable not only because requiring no cutting of the core with consequent possibility of weakening or tearing of the ends of the core by uneven removal of the circumferential strip but also because, when two cores are provided, different materials may be used for each core as in the case of the particular spool illustrated.

Although the spool of the present invention is particularly adapted for darning cotton, yarn or the like, and has accordingly been described and illustrated as constructed of relatively large pasteboard cores with paper disk ends glued to the inner core, obviously the invention is not limited to such type of spool as circumferential grooves at the ends of barrels or cores could be provided in spools of any material or of any size, whether constructed by securing together a plurality of parts or formed from a single piece of material and when so provided would serve to prevent lateral slippage of thread cross wound on the spool as the shoulders or sides of the grooves would secure in position each successive loop of thread.

The following is claimed:

1. A spool comprising in combination a core of cardboard or the like, a cylindrical member of an internal diameter substantially equal to the external diameter of said core, a pair of disks secured to the ends of said core and extending radially therefrom to form thread retaining flanges, said core being longer than said cylindrical member and symmetrically positioned therein whereby the ends of said member form shoulders over which thread cross-wound upon the spool is looped and thereby prevented from lateral slippage, said cylindrical member being of corrugated newsboard and said disk-like ends being of paper and being glued to the ends of said core with a circumferential rim extending beyond the outer surface of the core and turned inwardly from the ends of the core to form thread retaining flanges.

2. A spool comprising a core upon which thread may be wound and disk-like portions at either end thereof, said core being so formed as to have at each end a short cylindrical portion of an external diameter less than that of the central portion of the core and less than that of the disk-like end portion and servingas a thread retaining circumferential groove to prevent lateral slippage of thread cross-wound on the core, said disk-like portions being secured to the ends of said core with a circumferential rim extending beyond the outer surface of the core and turned inwardly from the ends of the core to form thread retaining flanges.

EDWIN J. STEWART. 

